[Interview] Falling into “Wondaland” with Korean Hip Hop Group MFBTY

At first look, people might simply describe MFBTY as a hip-hop group, but your album is packed with 17 tracks and you explore various genres from not only hip-hop, but electronica, R&B and even reggae. What genres were you most excited to challenge and how was the process of creating a song in that style?

Tiger JK: I love reggae music. It’s always been a root of inspiration for me. If you listen to my old Drunken Tiger records, you will find a lot of reggae influences or me paying homage. Drunken Tiger’s single “Liquor Shot” was dance hall. And Tasha’s “Wonder Woman” single was reggae influenced. Whether it be EDM or rock music, we’re inspired by anything that has soul.

Yoonmirae: Well our DJ/producer/consultant/Feel Ghood Music family friend DJ Smells is really into and good with the EDM side of things, so he was there to help us with fusing our styles together. As JK said, he’s always been a huge reggae fanatic and knows a lot about it, so when JK and Kim Ban Jang from Windy City get together in the studio, it’s pretty much a wrap! When making this album, we just basically showed up at the studio and recorded our jam sessions. We didn’t confine ourselves to one genre or what we thought the people thought we should do. We just wanted to do whatever felt good, made us happy, and hoped for the best.